Digital medical imaging and information technology from Carestream Health is being used to x-ray priceless Field Museum artifacts, including this ancient Egyptian mummy. Photo by Karen Bean; courtesy of The Field Museum
This image of the right femur of an ancient Egyptian mummy reveals the absence of new bone growth near the fracture, indicating that the leg was broken after the person died and the body mummified. Photo courtesy of The Field Museum
Esta máscara o “falsa cabeza”, hecha de tela rellena con fibras, madera y con pinturas decorativas, habría sido colocada a una momia sudamericana procedente de Pachamac, un emplazamiento costero ubicado a unas 15 millas del sudeste de Lima, Perú. Foto de John Weinstein, cortesía del Field Museum.
This image of an ancient Peruvian mask or "false head" shows the surprising presence of shells inside the stuffing of the mask. This information may help to answer the tantalizing question of why this "false head" was packed with shells. The shells appear to be a deliberate addition to the filling of the mask, possibly a food offering, but their meaning is unclear since no other specimens with added shells are known. Photo courtesy of The Field Museum